Mary
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Last September when I saw Dr. Kaufman my stools were pretty much liquid, and had been for 3 or 4 months. I'd tried several different probiotics and an expensive herb combo from my chiropractor, which did cause a herx reaction, but didn't solve the problem.
Somehow about 2-1/2 months ago I started drinking TJ's plain kefir (no sugar or flavorings) and within a week I think things were more than normal than they had been in months. I kept drinking it and all seems well now.
Dr. Kaufman tested me for SIBO, giardia, parasites, h. pylori, and all were negative.
I am wondering if the problem was c. difficile - in July of 2014 I was given clindamycin for a parotid gland infection (without me realizing it had a black box warning due to deaths from c. dfificile, sometimes occurring months later!) I remember in May of 2015 my gut being screwed up (I don't remember how long it had been screwed up at that time) and then it just got worse. So there is quite a time lag from when I took the clindamycin, but it may have been a factor.
I do plan to never take another ABX without reading about it first. And the doctor did have a choice here, amoxicillin was also listed as an effective drug, but she said, let's do the clindamycin and I never looked it up until I started getting very tired after being on it for a couple of days. And FWIW, twice doctors tried to give me black box warning drugs for a simple UTI - I refused, was given the older safer drug which worked fine. What truly alarms me is that these doctors are giving out drugs with black box warnings without trying safer drugs first.
Surprisingly I didn't feel that sick with my liquid bowels (I hate writing this but no graceful way to do it!), but I knew I couldn't be properly absorbing food or nutrients. In the main, I avoid dairy, am allergic, but I seem to tolerate the kefir very well.
Here are the cultures TJ's kefir contains (I don't have the numbers):
L. casei, L. Lactis, L. acidophilus, L. plantarum, L. rhamnosus, B. Bacterium longum, Leuconostoc cremoris, B. bacterium breve, Streptococcus diacetylactis, Saccaromyces florentinus, L. reuteri, B. lactis
Somehow about 2-1/2 months ago I started drinking TJ's plain kefir (no sugar or flavorings) and within a week I think things were more than normal than they had been in months. I kept drinking it and all seems well now.
Dr. Kaufman tested me for SIBO, giardia, parasites, h. pylori, and all were negative.
I am wondering if the problem was c. difficile - in July of 2014 I was given clindamycin for a parotid gland infection (without me realizing it had a black box warning due to deaths from c. dfificile, sometimes occurring months later!) I remember in May of 2015 my gut being screwed up (I don't remember how long it had been screwed up at that time) and then it just got worse. So there is quite a time lag from when I took the clindamycin, but it may have been a factor.
I do plan to never take another ABX without reading about it first. And the doctor did have a choice here, amoxicillin was also listed as an effective drug, but she said, let's do the clindamycin and I never looked it up until I started getting very tired after being on it for a couple of days. And FWIW, twice doctors tried to give me black box warning drugs for a simple UTI - I refused, was given the older safer drug which worked fine. What truly alarms me is that these doctors are giving out drugs with black box warnings without trying safer drugs first.
Surprisingly I didn't feel that sick with my liquid bowels (I hate writing this but no graceful way to do it!), but I knew I couldn't be properly absorbing food or nutrients. In the main, I avoid dairy, am allergic, but I seem to tolerate the kefir very well.
Here are the cultures TJ's kefir contains (I don't have the numbers):
L. casei, L. Lactis, L. acidophilus, L. plantarum, L. rhamnosus, B. Bacterium longum, Leuconostoc cremoris, B. bacterium breve, Streptococcus diacetylactis, Saccaromyces florentinus, L. reuteri, B. lactis